Head of Steam

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Head of Steam
Head of Steam overview.JPG
Durham UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg  Head of Steam shown within County Durham
Established1975 [1]
Location Darlington, County Durham, England
Coordinates 54°32′10″N1°33′18″W / 54.536°N 1.555°W / 54.536; -1.555
Type Railway museum
CuratorLeona White-Hannant [2]
Website https://www.head-of-steam.co.uk

Head of Steam, formerly known as the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum, is a railway museum located on the 1825 route of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which was the world's first steam-powered passenger railway. It is based inside the station building at the North Road railway station. Its exhibits are devoted to the area formerly served by the North Eastern Railway with a particular focus on the Stockton & Darlington Railway and the railway industry of Darlington. [3] [4] In 2022, plans were submitted to expand the museum as part of the Railway Heritage Quarter. [5] In December 2023, the museum temporarily closed its doors to undergo a £35 million redevelopment.

Contents

In October 2023, Darlington's Rail Heritage Quarter was renamed Hopetown Darlington, celebrating the rich rail heritage of this area of Darlington which is known as Hopetown due to the location of the historic Hopetown Carriage Works and Hope Town Foundry. [6]

Hopetown Darlington is a 7.5 acre site encompassing the former Head of Steam (now renamed North Road Station Museum), an exhibition hall for blockbuster exhibitions, a 4D virtual reality time travel ride, an adventure playpark, a café, shop, and events field for festivals and events, as well as onsite partners including the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, NELPG, and Darlington Railway Preservation Society. Hopetown Darlington opens to the public in summer 2024.

Locomotives

Prior to 2021, the museum currently had five locomotives on display. Two were owned by the museum, while three were on long-term loan from the National Railway Museum. In 2021, Locomotion No. 1 moved to Locomotion Museum in Shildon.

Number & NameYearDescriptionLiveryHistoryImage
Locomotion No. 1 1975Replica S&DR 0-4-0N/A Locomotion No. 1 was built by George Stephenson for the world's first public steam-worked passenger railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway. It was responsible for hauling the first train on the line on 27 September 1825. The original was displayed in the museum between 1975 and 2021. It was moved to Shildon in that year. [7] A 1975-built replica, previously based at Beamish Museum, has now replaced it in the museum and it is intended for this replica to be restored to working order in time for the 200th anniversary of the S&DR in 2025. [8] [9] Locomotion Tyseley (1).jpg
No. 25 Derwent 1845S&DR 0-6-0GreenNo. 25 Derwent was designed by Timothy Hackworth and built by William and Alfred Kitching for use on the Stockton and Darlington Railway. It spent many years on display with Locomotion No. 1 at Darlington Bank Top station before being put on display in the museum. [10] Stockton & Darlington 0-6-0 25 'Derwent' Head of Steam, Darlington 30.06.2009 P6300113 (10192716434).jpg
No. 14631885 NER 1463 (LNER E5) 2-4-0NER Apple GreenThis engine was designed by Henry Tennant and Thomas W. Worsdell for use on express trains. It spent a large portion of its preserved career on display in the original York Railway Museum. NER E5 2-4-0 1463 (1885) Head of Steam, Darlington 30.06.2009 P6300112 (10192722204).jpg
No. 9011919 NER T3 (LNER Q7) 0-8-0LNER BlackDesigned by Sir Vincent Raven for use on heavy freight trains.

In the 1980s, it was loaned to the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group which restored it to working order. It then spent several years working on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway before its withdrawal. It was put on display in the museum during its refurbishment in 2008.

LNER Q7 0-8-0 901 (1919) Head of Steam, Darlington 30.06.2009 P6300110 (10192857226).jpg
No. D68981964 BR Class 37 Co-CoBR GreenNo. D6898 (TOPS 37198) was designed by English Electric and built at their Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns works in Darlington. It was the final locomotive built at the works before its closure. It was withdrawn from service in 1999 and preserved before being resold to Network Rail in 2008. After being used as a spares donor for other class members, it was donated to the museum in August 2021. [11] 37198 at Rothley.jpg

Model railway

The museum holds a large model of the Stockton & Darlington Railway which can be seen in the images below.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darlington</span> Town in County Durham, England

Darlington is a market and industrial town in County Durham, England. It is the main administrative centre of the unitary authority Borough of Darlington. The borough is a constituent member of the devolved Tees Valley area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Hackworth</span> British steam locomotive engineer (1786-1850)

Timothy Hackworth was an English steam locomotive engineer who lived in Shildon, County Durham, England and was the first locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Railway Museum</span> Railway museum in York, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stockton and Darlington Railway</span> English railway company, 1825 to 1863

The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected collieries near Shildon with Darlington and Stockton in County Durham, and was officially opened on 27 September 1825. The movement of coal to ships rapidly became a lucrative business, and the line was soon extended to a new port at Middlesbrough. While coal waggons were hauled by steam locomotives from the start, passengers were carried in coaches drawn by horses until carriages hauled by steam locomotives were introduced in 1833.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shildon</span> Town and civil parish in County Durham, England

Shildon is a town and civil parish in County Durham, in England. The population taken at the 2011 Census was 9,976. The town has the Locomotion Museum, due to it having the first station, built in 1825, and locomotive works on the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Pease (railway pioneer)</span> English railway promoter (1767–1858)

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<i>Locomotion</i> No. 1 Early steam locomotive (built 1825)

Locomotion No. 1 is an early steam locomotive that was built in 1825 by the pioneering railway engineers George and Robert Stephenson at their manufacturing firm, Robert Stephenson and Company. It became the first steam locomotive to haul a passenger-carrying train on a public railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darlington Works</span> Railway Engineering Works

Darlington Works was established in 1863 by the Stockton and Darlington Railway in the town of Darlington in the north east of England. The main part of the works, the North Road Shops was located on the northeast side of the Stockton and Darlington Railway

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shildon railway station</span> Railway station in County Durham, England

Shildon is a railway station serving the town of Shildon in County Durham, England on the Tees Valley Line, between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington. The station, situated 9 miles 8 chains (14.6 km) north-west of Darlington, It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Road railway station</span> Railway station in County Durham, England

North Road is a railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington. The station, situated 1 mile 23 chains (2.1 km) north-west of Darlington, serves the market town of Darlington in County Durham, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eaglescliffe railway station</span> Railway station in County Durham, England

Eaglescliffe is a railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington. The station, situated 8 miles 63 chains east of Darlington, serves the village of Eaglescliffe, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A1 Steam Locomotive Trust</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hopetown Carriage Works</span> Carriage works in County Durham, England

Hopetown Carriage Works, also known as the Stockton and Darlington Railway Carriage Works, was a carriage works of the Stockton and Darlington Railway built in 1853 in Hopetown, near Darlington, County Durham, England.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyon, Hetton colliery railway</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skerne Bridge</span> Railway bridge in Darlington, County Durham, UK; in continuous use since 1825

The Skerne Bridge is a railway bridge over the River Skerne in Darlington, County Durham. Built in 1825 for the Stockton and Darlington Railway, it carried the first train on the opening day, 27 September 1825. It is still in use, being the oldest railway bridge in continuous use in the world. It is a Grade I listed building.

References

  1. "Head of Steam - Darlington Railway Museum | Culture24". www.culture24.org.uk.
  2. "Keeping in mind railmen who gave lives to support war effort | The North-East At War".
  3. "- Home Page". Head of Steam Railway Museum. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  4. "Our Collections". Head of Steam Railway Museum. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  5. Barnard, Ashley (26 March 2022). "Plans updated for ambitious Darlington Head of Steam Museum". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  6. "Why is Darlington's £35m railway centre being renamed Hopetown?". Darlington and Stockton Times. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  7. "Shildon's Locomotion museum: New £5.9m building to house 45 attractions". BBC News. 15 January 2022.
  8. Lloyd, Chris (11 March 2021). "Darlington to have replica Locomotion No 1 on display". The Northern Echo. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  9. "Decision - Locomotion No 1 and Replica". Darlington Borough Council. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  10. "Head of Steam Darlington Railway Museum – ERIH".
  11. Edgar, Bill (12 August 2021). "Historic Class 37 locomotive rolls back into Darlington". The Northern Echo . Newsquest. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.